Global shipments of wearable devices grew 14.1% in the second quarter compared to the same period a year ago, bolstered by strong demand for hearables (headphones and ear buds) and continued interest in health tracking during the pandemic, according to a research report by IDC.

Apple, which leads the global wearables market, racked up 29.4 million shipments in the quarter ended June giving it a market share of 34.2%, way ahead of its nearest competitor, according to Monday’s report.

Huawei Technologies, which took the crown as the world No. 1 smartphone maker in the second quarter, recorded the fastest year-on-year growth of 58% among top wearable vendors. It shipped 10.9 million units during the period, increasing its market share to 12.6% from 9.1% in the second quarter of 2019. Xiaomi, Samsung and Fitbit were among the top five vendors, behind Apple and Huawei.

“Around the world, many organisations have also started to use wearables to help the fight against Covid-19,” said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for IDC mobile device trackers. “Not only are wearables being used to track symptoms, but also to warn wearers when social distancing isn’t being maintained.”

Though the growth was slower than the first quarter’s 29.7%, the wearable devices market has proven more resilient than the smartphone market, where global shipments slipped 16% in the second quarter of 2020, according to an earlier report from IDC.

While the total wearables market ballooned to 86.2 million units during the quarter, growth was unevenly spread across various products. Hearables exhibited much stronger and broader demand than smartwatches and fitness trackers, according to the IDC report.

Hearables grew 32.6% and accounted for 60% of all wearables during the quarter. Apple led the charge as it shipped 23.7 million Airpods and Beats products, followed by Samsung and Xiaomi.

Combined shipments for watches and wristbands declined 4.4% from last year. However, the top two vendors - Huawei and Xiaomi - recorded growth of 45.8% and 16.6% year-on-year respectively, followed by Apple.

“Health continues to be at the forefront of use cases for wearables, but with gyms closing and outdoor activities limited, users have opted for online or in-app fitness sessions and this has ultimately helped vendors to ramp up the services side of their wearables businesses,” said Ubrani.

 - SCMP